WORCESTER -- The WPI women's basketball team held off a late fourth-quarter push to earn a 61-59 victory over Wheaton in the NEWMAC opener for both squads on Saturday afternoon inside Harrington Auditorium. The Engineers improve to 10-5 overall while the Lyons fall to 4-11.
 
WPI was led by Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, CT) with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals. Ava Hyams (Kearny, NJ) added 15 points and five rebounds, while Emmy Allyn (Rutland, MA) finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Leila Nielsen (New York, NY) contributed 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
 
Wheaton received 22 points and nine rebounds from Cheyenne Colbert (Brookline, NH). Darlene Tashobya (Kampala, Uganda) scored 14 points, and Regan Keyter (Highlands Ranch, CO) added 11 points and three assists.
 
With WPI up 48-38 entering the fourth, Wheaton steadily chipped into the advantage. The Lyons opened the period with an eight-point burst, getting a three from Sydney MacCalla (Middletown, NY) followed by baskets from Colbert and Daniella MacDonald (Newtown, PA) to pull within 48-46. WPI briefly answered when Giansiracusa buried a three at 5:50 for a 51-45 lead, but Wheaton continued to surge as Colbert scored inside and later added two free throws at 3:35, slicing the margin to 53-49.
 
A layup from Nielsen at 2:18 pushed the lead back to 55-49, but Colbert responded with another basket at 1:58 to make it a one-possession game. The final minute became a free-throw duel: Giansiracusa hit two at 0:55, Colbert answered with a three-point sequence at 0:53, and Keyter knocked down two at 0:32 to trim the margin to 58-56. Allyn converted two free throws with 30 seconds left to restore a 60-56 WPI lead before Keyter connected on a three with 17 seconds remaining to pull Wheaton within one. Hyams made one at the line with 14 seconds to go for the final margin, and the Engineers secured the rebound on the Lyons' last three-point attempt to close out the win.
 
WPI built its early cushion with a strong first quarter. A 16-0 run fueled by six points from Hyams and five from Giansiracusa put the Engineers up 20-4, and the hosts led 20-9 after one.

Wheaton opened the second quarter on a 7-4 run, but WPI countered with six straight points to make it 30-16 before carrying a 30-20 lead into halftime.
 
A 10-2 WPI run to start the third, including six points from Allyn, extended the margin to 40-24. Wheaton answered with a 9-4 stretch behind seven points from Tashobya, later trimming the deficit to 10 after a 5-0 push to end the frame.
 
WPI returns home on Wednesday, January 21, to host MIT at 7pm inside Harrington Auditorium. Wheaton visits Clark the same night at 7pm.